Brush with Famous - Oswald Hoffmann

Dr. Oswald Hoffmann
Lutheran Hour photo

I had two brushes, of sorts, with the long-time speaker of The Lutheran Hour Dr. Oswald Hoffmann.

The first was in the mid-1970s.  He was speaking at a rally at Beloit College in Beloit, Wisconsin a short drive from our home in Janesville.

My parents were involved in organizing the event, at least at church level.  I was one of hundreds of Sunday School children selected to carry flags of countries where the international broadcast of The Lutheran Hour was heard.

Just what my first flag was, I'm not sure.  Another kid in line near me had this crazy looking flag and I asked if I could switch.  They agreed and I marched in carrying the flag of Nepal.

Nepal's flag
photo: theflagshop.co.uk

It's shape intrigued me.  At the time, I don't think I was aware that Nepal was home to Mt. Everest and a large section of the tallest mountain range in the world.  If I did, I doubt I realized those huge mountains were the reason for the flag's rugged shape.

Fast forward nearly 20 years and I actually met Dr. Oswald Hoffmann.  I'm not sure where the meeting happened.  The more I think about it, it was probably at an Aid Association for Lutherans conference in the mid-1990s.  Dr. Hoffmann, who retired in 1988, was still the regular Lutheran Hour speaker.

Afterwards, I introduced myself and told him about carrying the Nepalese flag at one of his rallies.

He lived in St. Louis.  So did my parents at the time.  At the end of our conversation, I asked if he might call my parents to say hello and gave him their phone number.  He said he would.

About a week later, my dad told me about an interesting message on their answering machine with the distinctive deep voice of Dr. Hoffmann.

It was a nice thing for him to do, for me and my parents and one of my favorite brushes with a famous person.

I'm sure Dr. Hoffmann, who died in 2005, would disagree with that adjective.  He was a pastor and a teacher, something he did throughout his life.  A calling he lived out in big and small ways - like making a phone call to a couple he had never met.